Labyrinth: Into the Malignant Book 2

The Pit

                  

We sat in each other's arms until morning as we awaited our doom. Silent tears ran down my cheeks all night going undetected by the darkness. I held onto my Intangible like he would leave me any second and he held onto me the same. When morning came, I began to shake in anticipation of the coming time when I would be ripped away from everything familiar.

When morning came, I didn't expect to be dragged by my hair down the stone steps and thrown in front of the emperor. My Intangible's shouts of protest for my handling went unnoticed by everyone due to my screams of pain. By the time I hit the throne room floor, tears were streaming down my cheeks with no stop in sight.

"Ah, that's what I like to see. A small crack before the shatter" The emperor said as he bent over and lifted my chin so I looked into his eyes. "I hope you had a good while to think about where you'll be going. I have a good friend of mine that will get you to where you're intended to go. Until you're broken, I bid you a farewell. Only, that would be too gracious for what's in store for you" He snarled before pushing me to the floor and looking at one of the guards. "Get her out of my sight" He spat and walked back to his throne and sat down.

I was dragged to a pool of water and thrown to the ground. Blood spotted my body and my eyes held terror. I took in raspy breaths before my Intangible was dragged down the stairs. He was shoved to his knees to look at me. I instantly sobered up from my fear and wiped my eyes before he could see them.

I was wrapped in a net that hung from the ceiling over the pool that went so deep and dark that not even the sun could shine through. I clawed at the net as it rubbed the scales covering my body. "Say goodbye" a voice said. I met my Intangible's eyes and he watched emotionless. I could see pain behind his eyes.

"Remember what you promised" I whispered to him right before a knife was throne and I dropped into the pool. Two creatures pulled the net down making me dizzy. My tail had managed to show up instead of legs. With one lest squeeze of pain in my heart, I let the bubbles making me dizzy knock me out.

***

I watched the two Tangibles watch each other in hopelessness. Once the girl dropped to her doom, the boy stood with steel eyes. He sat unmoving; his gaze was directed forwards so he wouldn't look down. I knew his pain, for I was in a similar situation years prior. I've moved on from my romantic fantasies and he will soon learn to do the same. I felt nothing for the woman that had once stolen my heart. After years of torture in this place, I'm not sure if I even still have a heart.

I was tasked with overseeing the Intangible. I walked over to him and hit his gut with my spear. He tumbled to the ground and looked up at me venomously. "Get up. Your training starts now" I said and hit him once more. He looks like he is about to lunge at me, but I was expecting it. Once he is charging me, I shove him against the hard wall and hold the sharp part of the spear to him. "I'm not here to babysit. I'm here to train you. I suggest you forget about the girl. She's gone and she will not come back. If you a girl in the future or just want to get through this with less pain than that girl will endure, you need to listen to me" I said harshly.

Normally, I would advise to hold off on giving the men I train a weapon, but this boy needs something to hold onto or I was going to lose him. He looked like he was going to either jump in after the girl, or hold a knife to his own throat. I tossed him the spear I was holding and he quirked an eyebrow at me. "Use it wisely" I say and begin to walk away. He follows me.

I take him through the caves to the rock query and cross my arms. Despite the boy having height and muscle mass over me, I was able to enforce my dominance by his uncertainty with the situation. He looked around and I almost smiled. He looked like a lost child. "Are you ready?" I asked. He gave me a weird look and I began to descend the staircase made of rock to the bottom.

"You will work here with the other men. On the two break days, you will fight. Your future depends on your improvements in the future. I suggest you pay very close attention and work hard. Death tends to sneak up on those who lag behind" I say in a warning. I wasn't lying. It is very easy to die here. I would guess it was possibly harder to die up top than down here.

***

My eyes slowly opened as the spinning stopped and I had chains on my wrists. There was a beautifully vile looking woman swimming in front of me. She had an evil smirk on her face. "Welcome to the pit" She snarled. I looked around and saw other women looking at me like they were going to tear me to shreds.

"What is this place?" I asked. It was mostly dark except for the eerie glow of our scales.

"We call it the pit. This is where people are broken down. Now it's not necessarily done by a specific person. Since the pit was opened, we get a few moments of peace, but in about ten minutes, the torture begins. There's no escape unless you're brought out, or you kill another. In the pit, there's no way out except for one known way. Our blood has something in it that makes it float. Cover yourself in another's blood completely and it'll take you right on up. Our blood is invisible in the dark water, so there is no following the person or the blood" She explained quickly.

"Why don't you just swim up?" I asked.

"Which way is up?" The woman asked. I tried to point up but she shook her head. "My darling little girl, there is no up here. The pit shifts and turns. Once we are locked down here, the water will start to move, the rocks will shift and you will get dizzy. It'll feel like you are spinning one hundred miles per hour. Because of the roaring of the water, your ears become numb to sound. You won't hear anything properly. Your mind will create hallucinations. Those are very dangerous. Some are real and some are fake. We don't have torturers or slave drivers, we have temptations. Don't fall for them my dear girl. Remember one thing. Never stop swimming" She was deathly serious.

"Is there any rest?" I asked.

"By rest you mean death? Yes, but it is the most painful thing you will ever feel. You are never dead until every ounce of blood is stolen from your body. If you rest against the rock, it will shift and crush you, if you stop swimming, the current will drown you. Remember, you won't stop feeling the pain until your blood is gone. If I were you, I wouldn't rest. If you run into someone else, they will try to kill you"

I bit my lip. I wanted to cry. "How do I swim? Why haven't you killed me yet?" I rushed.

"We want to kill you. We thirst for freedom, but while we are stationary and until the latch is closed, the blood won't rise, it'll just disperse. You want to know how to swim? Move your hips" She smirked and showed me how to swim with our twisted tails. It was side to side like a hungry shark rather than up and down like a playful dolphin. "I see your confusion. If you ever free yourself from here and sold to a man, the mating will be easier with our twisted tails" I didn't even want to imagine how that worked.

"Why are we sold?" I knew I had limited time.

"The criminals are sold. We each have our reasons for being here, but we have one goal.... to leave" She stiffened and her eyes darkened. "The opening is closing. Beware of the temptations. If we kill you, it's nothing personal. Remember, Never. Stop. Swimming. Good luck darling" Her evil grin turned into a hysterical laugh as soon as the water started churning.

All the creatures were ripped away in the swirling tide and I cried out in fear. Swim. I moved my tail from left to right and tried to grasp the clumsiness with the new tail. The roaring water in my ears made me want to scream. I couldn't even hear myself think. It was like swimming in a black void that I would never escape.